tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45177159716214620382017-07-02T03:35:55.195-07:00Low and Left Part DeuxHigh-minded foreign &amp; domestic events criticism, deep philosophical meditations, and increasingly drunk and vulgar renditions of Freebird.idiosynchronichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15130385037526106860noreply@blogger.comBlogger508125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-52156905137806178282012-09-08T12:03:00.000-07:002012-09-08T12:03:31.945-07:00A Note to the Ideological PuristsThis was written as a post in the comments on <a href="http://www.alternet.org/comments/election-2012/president-romney-why-those-two-words-should-scare-you-action-election#disqus_thread">Alternet.</a>:<P> I often wonder how many of those who post here are paid operatives of the Corporate Right. All of the concern trolling… ‘oh, I fell for Obama and now I see the light’; ‘both parties are the same’; Obama let us down and proved that he is beholden to corporations, just like dubya and Romney’; ‘I’ll use my vote to send a message to the Democratic Party’ [what message? That you are better than the rest of us? more ideologically pure? more reality based? All of these messages are good – but they are not morally superior, because any kind of morally superior judgment would know that <b>no message will be sent</b> and that every one of your friends, neighbors, family and fellow countrymen & women will be irretrievably fucked when Republicans are installed in office due to your <i>morally superior</i> message sending.]<P> I have been reading back through publications from early 2009. By April of 2009 many on the Progressive Left had already written off Obama and convinced themselves and others that he was a traitor because he did not live up to every single one of their ideals. <i>I have felt the same way often, and have expressed the same concerns to the WH, my congressional rep, my Senators, my local government, friends, family and anyone else that would listen.</i><P> Now, however, during this election, <b>I do not have the luxury of ideological purity.</b> Neither does our country.<P> Obama said one thing during his acceptance speech that I have seen get no play in the analysis. <i>“As citizens, we understand that America is not about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government.”</i><P> Catch that? Self-government. Hard and frustrating work of self-government. Not, <i>I’ll send twenty five bucks to Obama, give him my vote and expect him to fix everything that has been fucked in this country for the last 35 years. And, I will give him, alone, 3.5 years to do it.</i><P> That is not how it works in self-governance. Not how it works. We must be involved every step of the way. We are the government. We send representatives to DC to represent us. However, we need to do the very hard work of staying on top of them every step of the way and ensuring that they are doing the work that we want done. This requires direct involvement.<P> I talk to a lot of Progressives and most of them are filled with the same dour frustration of the comments here. Most are rightfully and righteously frustrated with the BS that has not been fixed and the BS that has been continued. I get it. [Many of them also seem to have been only paying attention for the last 4 years and do not get the institutional structure or broken-ness of our congress, elections and campaign finance structure.]<P> However, to a person, most of them have not been involved. They do not attend party meetings. They are not involved in Progressive groups. They do not attend protests (or start them.) They do not sign petitions or write letters or make phone calls to their reps. They do not do, and have not done, <i>anything</i> to move the course of decision making in the right direction or the direction they want it moved. If we are not actively involved and do not continually use our voices and our power, then we lose our power and the moneyed interests are the ones who are heard. We need to be loud and louder. Our elected representatives need us involved. They need to be pushed by us.<P> I do not understand those, who have not pushed over the last four years, thinking that withholding their vote or voting third party will all of a sudden be the needed push. In self-governance you have a lot more responsibility than voting once every four years – yet many do not even do that. Your vote is powerful, but it is not your only responsibility.<P> The corporate masters are counting on you getting discouraged. They are counting on you thinking that ‘both parties are the same.’ They are counting on you sitting this one out or voting third party. They want this and need this. <a href="http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/president-romney-why-those-two-words-should-scare-you-action-election">Michael Moore</a> is right, they know that they cannot win if more people vote and so they are <b>taking away the vote from whoever they can get away with taking it away from.</b> We need to vote just to make up for the millions disenfranchised.<P> It is high past time for those of us who feel powerless to exercise our power where ever we can. Sitting out the election is not exercising power. Voting Green is not exercising this power. Not now. There is way too much at stake.<P> I am not a Democratic apologist. I am just as pissed about many, many things that have been done or not done. When I look at the Party Platforms, though, it is the Democratic Party that is closest to my beliefs. When I look at the demographics, it is the Democratic Party that most resembles true representation. When I look at the last 80 years of law making in this country it is the Democrats who have supported Women, Unions, Civil Rights, Peace and the Social Safety Net. It is the Democratic Party that says that <i>We are All in This Together</i> [The Right would have us jumping from windows of a burning factory because we are all just means to an end for the factory owner – not actual people, actual people all created equally.]<P> We are at a major fucking turning point. We do not have the luxury of waiting for the candidate who believes in everything that we believe in. We need to ensure that Obama is reelected and do everything that we can to get him a congress that will not block his every move. Then we need to be involved to push our representatives to enact laws for the people, undo the damage done over the last 35 years, enact laws that remove the power of the financial elite, restore our Rights and Civil Liberties and prosecute those who have screwed us. We need to elect them, then we need to push them. Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-20669512967128063672012-04-07T06:45:00.002-07:002012-04-07T06:50:45.656-07:00The Republicans continue to deny that there is a War on Women, but when people like Romney praise Walker for being bold and courageous, then their denial is a lie.<br /><br />Scott Walker is going for broke before his recall. <br /><br />A Wisconsin law that made it easier for victims of wage discrimination to have their day in court was repealed on Thursday, after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) quietly signed the bill.<br /><br />The 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act was meant to deter employers from discriminating against certain groups by giving workers more avenues via which to press charges. Among other provisions, it allows individuals to plead their cases in the less costly, more accessible state circuit court system, rather than just in federal court.<br /><br />In November, the state Senate approved SB 202, which rolled back this provision. On February, the Assembly did the same. Both were party-line votes in Republican-controlled chambers.<br /><br />(From HuffingtonPost)Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06050291602160867316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-53558088695146921282012-03-10T15:51:00.003-08:002012-03-10T16:02:03.482-08:00One Question<a href="http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/monitoring/9241591838/en/index.html">How</a> <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/MaternalInfantHealth/PregComplications.htm">many</a> <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18448740">men</a> <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15284764">die</a> <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthproblemsinpregnancy.html#cat22">each</a> <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthproblemsinpregnancy.html">year</a> <a href="http://www.scdhec.gov/health/mch/wcs/risks-of-pregnancy.htm">due</a> <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1479545/">to</a> <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/teenagepregnancy.html">pregnancy</a> <a href="http://www.acog.org/About_ACOG/News_Room/News_Releases/2009/Ob-Gyns_Urged_to_Help_Reduce_Health_Disparities_for_Rural_Women">related</a> <a href="http://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/you-are-pregnant/pregnancy-complications.cfm">risks?</a>Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-25967441095559200952012-02-05T12:37:00.000-08:002012-02-05T13:07:16.207-08:00Personhood AmendmentGoddammit. <br /><br />Perhaps it is time that we introduce a new Personhood Amendment? Something to the effect that <b><i>“Women are full human beings, with full rights over their bodies and complete freedom to make decisions respecting their bodies, health and futures.”</i></b><br /><br />All of this <i>new</i> <a href=" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/barack-obama-birth-control_n_1219622.html ">controversy</a> over requiring that health insurance plans, regardless of where they are <a href=" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nita-chaudhary/kathleen-sebelius-plan-b_b_1241653.html ">offered,</a> cover <b>birth control</b> without copay, is absolutely absurd. <br /><br />I have heard <u>enough</u> from Newt & Rick & Mitt & Ron Paul about ‘religious freedom’ and what an attack on the Catholic Church that this has been. Well, for thousands of years the Catholic Church, and other male dominated power structures, have been attacking women and our autonomy and it is about fucking time for a little push back.<br /><br />This is not about abortion. This is not about birth control. This is not about the group of cells that may or may not be duplicating in someone’s uterus. <br /><br /><b>This is about Women.</b> <br /><br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><br />This whole bullshit argument is about whether or not women can be trusted to think and decide for themselves what is best for themselves and their body and their future - or whether they need the state, or a man, telling them what they can or cannot do. <br /><br />Women <a href=" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-kaufman/birth-control_b_1245143.html ">understand</a> how our bodies work. We understand, and can comprehend, the multitude of issues that arise from our reproductive health and, thankfully, there are [still] <a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppgnw/">organizations</a> that can assist us in getting the care that we need.<br /><br />Despite all of the arguments to the contrary, <b>women are capable of making these decisions ourselves.</b> <br /><br /><b>It is very simple: either I have control over my body or someone else does.</b> <br /><br />These arguments have always been about controlling women and limiting their abilities to control their own lives. <b><i>Take away a woman’s choice about her own fertility and you limit every choice that that woman will ever be able to make for the rest of her life.</i></b><br /><br />When, in this country, will we finally decide that women are full persons with all of the rights of a full person? Oh, that’s right, we have been trying to get a women’s ‘personhood amendment’ passed for <a href="http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq.htm">89 years</a> and counting.<br /></span>Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-58746039402709123092011-02-28T09:50:00.000-08:002011-02-28T09:52:26.220-08:00More Uncovered ProtestsIn addition to the <a href=" http://lowandleftpartdeux.blogspot.com/2011/02/apparently-this-revolution-will-not-be.html ">uncovered protests</a> on Saturday to protect worker’s rights, corporate media also blacked-out coverage of nationwide protests against the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/28/uk-uncut-public-finance">banks.</a><br /><br />Interesting the crap that the corporate media wants us to know vs what they <a href="http://usuncut.org/">don’t want us to know about.</a><br /><br />The Right Wing <a href="http://robertreich.org/post/3353591266">strategy is clear.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thomhartmann.com/">Thom Hartmann</a><br />told a joke this morning (see, it’s funny ‘cause it’s true…)<br /><br /><blockquote>A Big Business man, a Tea Partier and a Laborer are sitting around a table with a plate of 12 cookies on it. The Big Business guy takes 11 of the cookies and gobbles them up. There is one cookie left. Big business looks at the Tea Partier and says, “Watch out, that Union guy wants part of your cookie.”</blockquote><br /><br />I wonder when the Dems will figure out that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-coates/diluting-the-tea-party-th_b_828869.html">‘bipartisanship’ is not the solution?</a>Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-79598559015180388762011-02-27T14:13:00.000-08:002011-02-27T15:10:26.686-08:00Apparently THIS Revolution Will NOT Be TelevisedAs I watched the National protests in support of Unions and the people of Wisconsin, <i>on-line</i>, yesterday, I kept searching the teevee for evidence of coverage. The local news networks were not covering it, the national news networks were not covering it, the cable news networks were not covering it and – extremely disappointingly – CSPAN was not covering it. I even flipped periodically to Fox <i>“News”</i> to see if they were covering the <b>national response to the attack on the used-to-be-middle-class.</b> Fox had more coverage than any other network, however it was spun towards the myth of the Unions being greedy thugs and the protests as something to be feared. (CNN, sadly, were instead talking about the Tea Party and its two year anniversary.)<br /><br />When it comes to the used-to-be-middle-class, we are left out of the national dialogue, <a href=" http://front.moveon.org/50-photos-from-the-50-state-rallies-to-save-the-american-dream/">despite the millions in the streets.</a><br /><br />More on the flip side about why these protests matter,why America needs to be informed of them and about them, and why they are occurring.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">This morning, watching the <a href=" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/27/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_40_n_828757.html ">Sunday shows,</a> the same black-out of the nationwide protests continued. MTP at least included <a href=" http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/02/27/trumka-this-is-not-about-a-budget-crisis/ ">Rich Trumka;</a> a rare representative of actual people, on the Sunday chat fests. Though he was not given enough opportunity to really talk about what is occurring across the country. Emanuel Cleaver did OK but there is really crappy, if existent at all (though I find no evidence for it) Democratic messaging on the real fight here.<br /><br />There are numerous reasons for these protests and numerous reasons that we all – left, right, center, independent, Democratic, Republican, Tea Party and Socialist – should be celebrating and supporting the protests and the protestors: they are fighting for the survival of our country which is contingent on the survival of its people. <br /><br />First of all, this is not a budget fight. Public sector employees are not responsible for our <a href="http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/83829/wisconsin-public-employees-walker-negotiate?page=0%2C1">budget deficits.</a><br />Bush tax cuts and the second Republican Great Depression <a href=" http://www.cbpp.org/files/12-16-09bud.pdf ">are what is driving our deficits (PDF)</a> and what created our massive National Debt. There is only one reason to even be discussing deficits now; the Right wants to blur the line and pretend that cash-strapped governments (state and local and federal) are the reason that the American people are broke. They are interrelated but the cause and effect formula is backwards.<br /><br />The Right pretends that jobs are some gift from business owners and, now, governments. They have repeated the meme for so long now that business “creates jobs,” that our entire national debate centers around how best to blow the cocks of big business rather than the <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/1a8a5cb2-9ab2-11df-87e6-00144feab49a.html#axzz1FCMdBgJO">incredible shrinking wealth of </a> what was once the middle class. Never mind <a href=" http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/09/our_lost_decade_in_one_graph.html">wage stagnation</a> “business needs certainty.” The <a href="http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/01/vicious-cycle-stagnant-wages">used-to-be-middle-class</a> would like some certainty too. <br /><br />No business creates jobs just to create jobs – as evidenced by the shitload of money that the <a href=" http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3290">corporations are hoarding.</a> The corporations do not “create jobs”; employees provide services to employers for a fee (payrolls); <a href=" http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/07/why_businesses_arent_hiring_in.html">DEMAND</a> creates jobs. There is no demand because the people are freakin’ broke. Or, I should say, the <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2011/02/what_americans_think_about_inc.html">majority</a> of the people are freakin’ broke.<br /><br />In addition, lowering the deficit does not lead to jobs – unemployment leads to <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=711">budget deficits.</a> Somehow the Republicans believe that the more that they fire people, cut their benefits (which are part of a payroll package not some give-away) and lower their payrolls, the lower the unemployment rate will be. How many people do they have to fire before the unemployment rate reaches zero?<br /><br />There were <a href=" http://front.moveon.org/50-photos-from-the-50-state-rallies-to-save-the-american-dream/ ">coast-to-coast protests</a> yesterday. Protests of the American people standing up for the American people. <a href="http://blog.aflcio.org/">Coast-to-fucking coast.</a> My guess is that very few Americans know this and even fewer understand why the protests affect them and matter to them: Apparently THIS revolution will NOT be televised.</span><br /><br /><br />Update: John Nichols breaks down why this all matters <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/158872/upwards-125000-march-madison-activists-rally-nationwide-back-wisconsin-workers">much better than I did.</a>Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-87359751116379141142011-02-25T08:18:00.000-08:002011-02-25T08:24:45.101-08:00Dems With Balls<object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5f0VProvuAo&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5f0VProvuAo&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object><br /><br />h/t <a href="http://daveweigel.com/?page_id=1411">Dave Weigel</a> via <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/25/wisconsin-assembly-passes-anti-union-bill_n_828060.html">Huff Po.</a>Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-71662955729689344322010-12-22T08:34:00.000-08:002010-12-27T19:54:42.060-08:00Hints from Eileen<span class="fullpost">As we all get older, so do our parents. My Mom just turned 89 last week, and life sure has been interesting for my Sister Jeannie and me. I keep hearing a voice in my brain telling me to not get upset, but I must admit, there are days I long for a primal scream. All in all, I guess you can say Mom is intertaining. My only prayer these days is please God, give me and every Designated Daughter/Son strength. Anyway, enjoy these Hints from Eileen on how to test the limits of how much your girls really love you:</span><br /><span class="fullpost"></span><br /><span class="fullpost">1. If you can't find the garbage, throw kleenex on the floor.<br />2. If you have dirty clothes on, deny that they are dirty, and wear anyway.<br />3. If you are hungry, fill up with popcorn just before dinner.</span><br /><span class="fullpost">4. <span>If someone left buns or desserts on their table in the dining room, put them in your basket on your walker and bring them home. </span></span><br /><span class="fullpost"><span>5. If it's ice cream, don't worry. It will spill into your walker basket, coat your money in your wallet and adhere all the kleenex and superfulous stuff in the same basket into one gruesome lump that your daughters will clean up on Mondays.</span> </span><br /><span class="fullpost">6. <span>If the two paces to your closet are too far to walk to hang your clothes up, just walk 8 paces to the chair in the corner and throw them there. Your daughters will pick them up on Mondays.</span> </span><br /><span class="fullpost">7. <span>If someone wants to get serious and try to talk logic, just laugh and throw them off.</span> </span><br /><span class="fullpost">8. <span>If you have to be 89 and living the life of the "Queen of quite a lot", who thinks life is just a chair of bowlies, remind your girls that it's better than being 89 and a shrew.</span> </span><br /><span class="fullpost">9. <span>If you think you might be hungry later, take food off other people's tables as you leave the dining room. Afterall, they aren't going to eat it anyway. </span></span><br /><span class="fullpost"><span>10. </span><span>If your daughters ask you to not visit the ice cream palor 7 times a day, just deny the number 7. Then tell them that you "only have a tiny little cone, with just a little ice cream in it." They are sure to believe you. </span></span><br /><span class="fullpost"><span>11. If that <span class="text_exposed_show">doesn't work, start to fake cry and tell them they are being critical of you. That one actually works almost 100% of the time.</span></span></span><br /><span class="fullpost"><span><span class="text_exposed_show">12. </span></span><span>If you want a new winter wardrobe, increase your visits to the ice cream palor. Guaranteed to jump you 3 dress sizes. Presto, new wardrobe.</span> </span><br /><span class="fullpost">13. <span class="UIStory_Message">If you can't get out of your bras, cut the straps off with the scissors.<br />14. If you have chocolate candy on your fingers, wipe on nearest piece of furniture.<br />15. If you ha<span class="text_exposed_show">ve finished with your toothpick, throw it anywhere you want.</span></span><br />16. If you don't want to take a shower, argue that you have bathed every morning at the sink. Seriously, who needs more than one bath a week?</span><br /><span class="fullpost"></span><br /><span class="fullpost">and lastly, my favorite hint from Eileen, </span><br /><span class="fullpost"></span><br /><span class="fullpost">17. Take your shoes off in the middle of the front room so you will be sure to trip over them. This will send you to the Emergency Room (for the third time) where you will get all the attention you want.<br /></span><span class="fullpost"></span><span class="fullpost"><br /></span><span class="fullpost"></span>Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06050291602160867316noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-72748443710161819442010-06-20T10:16:00.000-07:002010-06-20T10:17:27.709-07:00An Open Letter to Joey B<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dear Sir, &nbsp;</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Recently, during the Gulf Oil spill hearings, you said the following:</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><a href="http://firedoglake.com/2010/06/20/the-world-is-rich-but-it-is-not-mine/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I do not want to live in a county where anytime a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, [it is] subject to some sort of political pressure that, again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown."</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> &nbsp;</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I found your remarks disgusting and shameful, and I am shocked that your constituents actually voted you into your current position. Had they seen you for what you nakedly are--an industry shill--I doubt they'd have so rallied behind you. &nbsp;</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You say you don't want to live in a country where industry can be held accountable for its misdeeds? Well, sir, the proverbial door is "that way." I hear Juarez is quite lovely this time of year. &nbsp;</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Regards, </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Milo Freeman</span></span></span>Milohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05402063641547151464noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-38986061071528877062010-05-27T08:12:00.000-07:002010-05-27T08:14:07.598-07:00Wouldn't You Like to Be a DFH, Too?<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yVoP5SvqJVo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yVoP5SvqJVo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br />Here you go, Id, this one is for you!Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-37224086458258629812010-04-07T11:04:00.000-07:002010-04-07T11:06:39.565-07:00Modern Media<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">I don't like modern news. I don't. Especially not cable news. The fecklessness of the 24-hour news cycle in America just makes me feel dumber every time I watch it. I get my news from online sources mostly: BBC and Reuters, HuffPo and Raw for my political fix. My problem with cable news is the polarity: I hate Fox, and I can only take so much MSNBC. I like Rachel Maddow for her investigative journalism, but everything else just seems a shoutfest. &nbsp;</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">CNN prides itself on being the most nonpartisan of the three major cable outlets, but to achieve that they have to pick the EXACT golden mean between the two extremes of contemporary public dialogue. And as a result, they assume that ALL arguments are equally valid, and that every story really DOES have two sides. And when they do that, shit like THIS happens:</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0407/cnn-asks-is-homosexuality-cure/">http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0407/cnn-asks-is-homosexuality-cure/</a></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"> Look. My problem is not with the political leanings, or lack thereof, from CNN. My problem is with the sheer slack-jawed credulity with which they do their reporting. There is no difference, in their eyes, between the weight given to a licensed expert and some quack kicked out of an organization years ago for breaches of ethics. &nbsp;</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Read my lips: American cable news is STUPID. You simply DO NOT see this kind of garbage on CNN International. What happened to news that challenged authority, of any stripe? What happened to journalists that risked their lives to bring corruption and injustice to light? I turn on the news now, and all I see are talking heads. People in power promise exclusivity for favorable coverage, and types like John King, or Judith Miller, or Bob Novak deliver. Doesn't matter whether it's a D or an R on the end. &nbsp;</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Do you get it, America? Your news is not biased. It is simply for sale.</span></span>Milohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05402063641547151464noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-9576996312541175612010-02-25T09:49:00.000-08:002010-02-25T10:24:06.181-08:00Anyone Watching?<object width="420" height="245" id="msnbc25c592" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0"><param name="movie" value="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640"><param name="FlashVars" value="launch=35538217&width=420&height=245"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="opaque" /><embed name="msnbc25c592" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" width="420" height="245" FlashVars="launch=35538217&width=420&height=245" allowscriptaccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="opaque" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 420px;">Visit msnbc.com for <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com">breaking news</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">world news</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">news about the economy</a></p><br /><br />This is amazing television. Truly amazing.<br /><br />Though I have it on the SPAN because I get sick of the MSNBC bastards thinking that their comments on what is going on are more important than <i>what is actually being said.</i><br /><br /><i>Dammit. Work phone rang when Slaughter was speaking. Louise Slaughter is my hero...I will have to watch her later.</i><br /><br />Use the thread to tell me what you think. Are you <a href="http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-treatment/where-was-barack">pissy?</a> Do you think that Obama is losing this debate?<br /><br />Or, are you keeping an open mind and listening to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/25/health-care-meeting-exper_n_474978.html">what the experts are saying?</a><br /><br />Let me know.<br /><br />I believe that <b>real</b> health care reform will be passed. I believe that it will happen because the Dems know that they will lose their shit in November if it doesn't. I just hope that they heed the words of Dr. Dean and make it go into effect now!<br /><br />President Obama is looking like the adult and the Pukes, of course, look like the tools that they are. Heh.Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-28122259863731493522010-02-09T10:17:00.000-08:002010-02-09T10:23:58.279-08:00YES, It Has Come to This<a href="http://willmarryforhealthinsurance.com/">Will Marry for Health Insurance dot com.</a><br /><br />Not a joke. The real deal. Desperate woman with a story that I can very much relate to.<br /><br />Fuck.<br /><br />H/T to <a href="http://www.thomhartmann.com/">Thom Hartmann</a> for interviewing her today.Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-47562002550086517812010-01-31T17:29:00.000-08:002010-02-01T09:15:02.463-08:00The Last ChanceRecently, after <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/us/politics/28obama.text.html" target="_blank">President Obama's State Of The Union speech</a>, I wanted to have a different dialogue with my conservative family over politics. Take Obama's advice, stop the same old arguments and vitriol. Unfortunately, the results were not surprising.<br /><br />I'll keep it short. It went something like this... Obama didn't inherit any problems from bu$h, and he should have solved the economic crisis facing the U.S. by now. The bu$h "Tax Cuts" for plutocrats have helped the American worker. "The Housing Bubble" was created by Democrats because they wanted everyone to own a home, regardless of the deceptive lending practices. True documented facts aren't history... unless it's the new fake facts, which make it solid conservative history. Why should they pay for the "Health Care Reform", when they have insurance. The old standards still hold true, "Greed is Good" and "Gay Rights" equals tolerance for pedophiles. Abolishing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine" target="_blank">Fairness Doctrine</a> did not open the door for Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. Nullifying <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act" target="_blank">the Glass-Steagall Act</a> was good "Free Market" Capitalism. <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-overturns-campaign-finance-limits-corporations/story?id=9269776" target="_blank">The recent Supreme Court decision favoring corporate contributions</a> still leaves individuals on equal footing. There was no long term conservative agenda or right wing conspiracy stemming from <a href="http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_accountability/powell_memo_lewis.html%22" target="_blank">The Powell Memo</a>, (yet, refused to read it). Don't call conservatives racists if they oppose Obama's policies, especially those conservatives who do not confront and protest the creation, spreading and/or laughing at Obama jokes; but it was fine to call Progressives and Liberals traitors when they opposed the Iraq war Americans were lied into by the bu$h administration. And the funniest line of all, conservatives don't watch FOX NEWS.<br /><br />I honestly tried to start the conversation in a positive manner. I mentioned that we must have some common ground and proceed from there, I even complimented them by saying, "At least conservatives have stuck to a long term agenda for what they think is right for the country." After family values and honesty, we started to move in different directions and the discussion started to fade fast. I gave in on "National Security", but mentioned we spend too much money on it. I agreed on "self-sufficiency" after everyone from all social classes has equal opportunity. One major sticking point on "freedom from too much government", came when I said, "Then you must let the individual decide what is right for themselves, such as a Woman's right to choose." The conversation quickly moved to "Right to Life", and I mentioned it's fine for conservatives to want the baby to be born but don't support government programs for the child when he's growing up. I couldn't get any of them to concede on gun restrictions for inner cities. Since the conversation got tied up with Corporate America's rights, we didn't even get to the environment and climate change.<br /><br />I will say it started genteel enough, but after awhile it was back to the same old caustic arguments. I now know it is useless to talk to these automatons, even if they are family. They are the most shallow, thick, misinformed, obtuse group of riffraff I have ever known. This was the last chance. I will stop wasting energy and effort reaching out for a middle ground... their thought process is closed off for new ideas, deeply entrenched and rooted in ignorance. I'm proud that I gave an effort but learned Progressives must outlast and persevere. Progressives cannot ever trust conservatives, they are like "The Terminator", and will not ever stop! I know the truth is on our side. Sorry President Obama, nothing has changed the conservative mindset.<br /><br /><em>cross posted at <a href="http://mstabile.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Left is Right</a></em>Seven of Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09331035803972630321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-72881992340662171072010-01-30T08:28:00.000-08:002010-01-30T08:42:50.871-08:00Thank You Mr. PresidentIf you have not seen it (or even if you have) please watch the President take on the GOPpers. He is brilliant and in command. He is calm, cool and collected. He has a patience and a professionalism that is unmatched.<br /><br /><object width="420" height="245" id="msnbc535008" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0"><param name="movie" value="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640"><param name="FlashVars" value="launch=35147797&width=420&height=245"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="opaque" /><embed name="msnbc535008" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" width="420" height="245" FlashVars="launch=35147797&width=420&height=245" allowscriptaccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="opaque" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 420px;">Visit msnbc.com for <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com">breaking news</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">world news</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;">news about the economy</a></p><br /><br />Then, if you have a minute and are so inclined, please <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact">send him a thank you note.</a> I think that it is important to reward good behavior and to let him know that we support him and have his back when he takes them on.<br /><br />(I have certainly been letting him know when I disapprove.)<br /><br />Thank you, in advance, for your support.<br /><br />Cross posted at <a href="http://progressiveactionspot.blogspot.com/">PAS</a>.Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-43673040525470037262010-01-29T13:19:00.000-08:002010-01-29T13:31:54.098-08:00Hey Dumbasses – The Healthcare Bill Will Create Jobs Too!The ‘conventional’ (by ‘conventional’ I mean the Beltway) wisdom seems to be that the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/29/health-care-stalemate_n_441519.html">healthcare bill is dead.</a> The media seems to think that the election of Scott Brown and the SOTU <a href="http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/obama-attacks-health-reform-stalemate-targeted-solutions">indicates</a> that healthcare reform is taking a back burner or being restructured or some such shit.<br /><br />Then there is the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/us/politics/29cong.html">NY Times article</a> that has the ominous headline that HC is “stalled” – and an even worse headline on the link to it at HuffPo that reads <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics/">“Rahm: Health Care on Back Burner.”</a> However, when I read the article there is no quote from Rahm stating that health care reform is dead. <br /><br />Here is where the article 'quotes' Rahm:<br /><blockquote>With Mr. Obama’s health care overhaul stalled on Capitol Hill, Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said in an interview that Democrats would try to act first on job creation, reducing the deficit and imposing tighter regulation on banks before returning to the health measure, the president’s top priority from last year.</blockquote> <br /><br />How I read that paraphrase is simply that he will sign a jobs & financial reform bill before he signs a health care bill. <br /><br />Obama has repeatedly said that he can do more than one thing at a time. Obama has repeatedly said that “everyday he focuses on the economy and on job creation” – even during the healthcare debate. Imagine that, a President who can <i>multi-task.</i><br /><br />Not only is health reform still very much alive, the bill might get a whole <a href="http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/the-campaign-to-salvage-the-public-option/">hell of a lot better.</a> Especially after Obama <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/31/watch-obama-live-streaming-video_n_139694.html">took on the GOP</a> at their retreat this morning. <br /><br />Obama called the GOP out on their crap – even going so far as to remind them that the more that they demonize him and the Democrats, the harder that it will be for the GOP to support policies that the Dems put forth. They cannot even support policies that they might agree with. The stupid Pukes in the Senate even voted “no” on the pay-go rule yesterday. How they can say that they are “fiscally responsible” and vote “no” on pay-go is beyond me.<br /><br />Health reform is an enormous jobs bill. Look at all of the potential jobs that will be created when 40 million more people have health insurance: doctors, nurses, health care billers, health care transcriptionists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, office staff, health care IT, construction workers (to build more clinics and hospitals), etc, etc, etc. <b>Millions of fucking jobs.</b><br /><br />Health care reform is not dead. It is now time for the Progressives to be louder than we have ever been. We need to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-benen/scream-bloody-murder_b_441980.html">“scream bloody murder.”</a> We need to call our Reps and ask them to <a href="http://whipcongress.com/">support the public option.</a> We need to call our Senators. We need to call the Whitehouse. We need to tell them to use <a href="http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/hatch-vows-reconciliation-will-lead-to-permanent-war-beween-parties-but-he-backed-many-reconciliation-bills/">reconciliation</a> or do whatever is necessary to get it done.<br /><br />We need to call and write and send letters to the editor and we need to be loud. It is time to march in the streets and raise holy hell. <br /><br />Health care reform is a jobs bill. Health care reform is necessary for deficit reduction. Health care reform is a moral issue – the civil rights of our time. Health care reform <b>must be passed now.</b><br /><br />Cross posted at <a href="http://progressiveactionspot.blogspot.com/">PAS.</a>Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-72430710159408909072010-01-20T11:13:00.000-08:002010-01-20T11:24:12.722-08:00The Obama Presidency is Officially OverAt least that is what one would have to believe if they had listened to any of the media reporting over the last 24 hours.<br /><br />OK, Coakley ran a shitty campaign. Democrats took the seat for granted. The DSCC dropped the ball. And, <a href=" http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7656">the votes have not even yet been counted!</a> <br /><br />There are major problems with <a href="http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7655">the MA election,</a> and I am waiting for it to be certified before I cry defeat. (I get it that certification will probably come without the full investigation of the funny machines or the BS ballots, but I can always dream.) I do not understand why Coakley jumped so quickly to concede…I do not get it, unless she planned to lose. Her concession will make it a lot more difficult to actually count the ballots.<br /><br />Enough said about Massachusetts. <i>It does not mean shit.</i> With Bayh, Landrieu, Lieberman, Nelson, Nelson and the others, we really never had 60 votes anyway.<br /><br />I spend a lot of time listening to a lot of media. I have Left Wing radio on and MSNBC almost all the time. I never miss the Sunday shows. I read endlessly. I pay attention to what is being said and <i>how</i> it is being said. They are working overtime right now to spin this MA election as the end of the Obama Presidency and they are wrong.<br /><br />We need to call and write and make clear <b>why it is that the Dems lost the MA seat.</b> We need to tell our representatives the truth. They will <b>not</b> be hearing the truth inside the beltway because the beltway common fucking wisdom is that the problem with Obama and his presidency is the DFH. <br /><br />Maybe they are correct, but not in the way that they think. <br /><br />The beltway press wants to spin this that the liberals were getting too much of their way, that Obama was too far to the left, that the Dirty Fucking Hippies <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/lefty-obama-haters-lost-m_b_429461.html">ruined the Obama Presidency.</a><br /><br />They’ll say that we have to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/19/lieberman-urges-party-to_n_428686.html">move to the ‘center.’</a> That we have to act like the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/20/evan-bayh-calls-for-a-ret_n_429699.html">principle-less right wing.</a> They are blaming MA on us; it is the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703837004575013221708478134.html">DFH’s fault.</a><br /><br />The only way that it is our fault is because we have not insisted loudly enough that the Congress follow the Progressive Principles that got them elected. We worked in 2006 & 2008 to send people to congress to get it done. <br /><br />We want real healthcare reform (and we want it now.) We want a real jobs package, a New New Deal (and we want it now.) We want the Employee Free Choice Act (and we want it now.) We want the banksters thrown out of the corporate world and we want their seats removed from the table at the Whitehouse (and we want it now.) We want control over our own bodies (and we want it now.) We want the ERA (and we want it now.) We want an end to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (and we want it now.) We want marriage available to any committed couple who wants it, gay or straight, (and we want it now.) We want the banking industry reformed (and we want it now.) We want the wars to come to an end (and we want it now.) We want Gitmo closed (and we want it now.) We want fairness for our people and accountability in our government (and we want it now.) We want the bankruptcy laws fixed (and we want it now.) We want the Bush Admin held accountable for their crimes (and we want it now.) <br /><br />These are the messages that we need to impart to our congress critters. This is what we need to tell them. This is why we lost (if we really lost) Massachusetts. This is what we need to say to our friends and colleagues and representatives and President. This is what we need to tell them; the Obama Presidency is not over, we are just getting started. We want a Progressive congress and President (and we want it now.) <br /><br />Cross posted at <a href="http://progressiveactionspot.blogspot.com/">PAS.</a>Anjhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361105317942756776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-88026502516126787982009-11-06T04:17:00.000-08:002009-11-06T05:25:04.776-08:00Are You Going to Finish Strong?<iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwsIsExzCT8Nz3AVzFNdgEur6M9Korh5dno3PIg2_5XMR4qia5tVA4J9S7kwj_8KHMd77ure6SDLkd5XP3wxw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' />Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06050291602160867316noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-59337507664375161132009-10-21T20:06:00.000-07:002009-10-21T20:20:26.974-07:00Why I Still Have FaithI'm not a man given to sentimental notions of patriotism. My patriotism is the patriotism of a man with a wayward younger brother, chiding his mistakes and exhorting him to do better. Time and time again, I've been disappointed. I've given a lot for my country, and more often than not I feel like what I've given was squandered.<br /><br />It isn't often that I feel a sense of pride in my country, or the people in it. When people ask me why, I need only point to every yellow-magnet on every giant SUV. I need only point to those who would condemn abortion, but support the chair. I need only point to those who would rather see a woman carrying a gun, than a packet of birth control. I need only point to those who would have thanked me for my service, while another veteran went homeless.<br /><br />But sometimes, just sometimes, I'm proven wrong. Every so often, when I least expect it, I'm given reason to have pride in my country.<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrEbJBFWIPk&amp;feature=player_embedded"><br />Philip</a><br /><br />The man in the video above is a World War II vet, and lifelong Republican, now in the last years of his life, speaking at a hearing in Maine to decide whether gays should have the right to marry. This man gave blood and sweat for our country, and when asked why he would support equality for gays and lesbians, his response?<br /><br />"What do you think our boys fought for at Omaha Beach? I haven't seen much, so much blood and guts, so much suffering, much sacrifice. For what? For freedom and equality. <div style="position: fixed;"><div id="new_selection_block0.8774933168070823" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /><br />Read more at: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/philip-spooner-video-wwii_n_329446.html" target="_blank_">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/philip-spooner-video-wwii_n_329446.html</a></div></div> <div style="position: fixed;"><div id="new_selection_block0.11155054838501888" style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br /><br />Read more at: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/philip-spooner-video-wwii_n_329446.html" target="_blank_">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/21/philip-spooner-video-wwii_n_329446.html<br /></a></div></div> "<br /><br />Like I said, I'm not given to sentimental displays of patriotism. I don't think of our flag, the way some do, and get choked up. But hearing this man speak, his voice wavering with age; hearing this man, whose sacrifice makes my own look like a pittance, and to hear him speak for those whose voices so often go unheard... well...<br /><br />Well, it chokes me up a bit.<br /><br />This... this is why I love my country. This is why I still have faith.Milohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05402063641547151464noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-11047332101236923532009-10-18T12:13:00.000-07:002009-10-18T12:17:59.052-07:00Welcome To The ClubWelcome to the club... <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/us/politics/18liberal.html?_r=1&th&emc=th" target=_blank>Frustrated Liberal Lawmaker Balances Beliefs and Politics.</a> <blockquote>Mr. Blumenauer is just one example of what might be called the Frustrated Left, a substantial caucus of Congressional Democrats who dreamed that Mr. Obama would usher in a new era of liberal problem-solving only to see Congress and the new administration collide with the old problems of partisanship, internal disagreement and the challenge of mustering 60 votes to get just about anything done in the Senate.</blockquote>Seven of Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09331035803972630321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-68240013362534391742009-09-10T10:20:00.000-07:002009-09-10T10:27:10.446-07:00The Status Quo Is Not AcceptableMy folks primary health care providers, the Mayo Clinic "strongly supports President Obama's" Health Care reform...<br /><blockquote><a href="http://healthpolicyblog.mayoclinic.org/2009/09/09/mayo-clinic-reaction-to-president-obamas-speech-september-9/" target="_blank">Mayo Clinic Reaction to President Obama’s Speech – September 9</a><br /><br />Mayo Clinic strongly supports President Obama’s call for health insurance reform and health care delivery reform, and agrees with the President’s position that the status quo is not acceptable. We believe that a bipartisan, collaborative approach is essential to achieving significant, patient-centered health care reform.<br /><br />Mayo Clinic and the many organizations and individuals working with us in the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center are strongly in favor of reform of both health care delivery and health insurance. True health care reform is getting better results for the money spent. Better results for money spent is what we meant by high value health care: better outcomes, safer care, better service and at lower costs over time. And this will translate to better access to medical services for all Americans.<br /><br />We agree with President Obama’s focus on insuring all Americans and reforming the health care payment reform.</blockquote> Pretty solid endorsement. Of course the cynical part of me is wondering if they aren't happy because they will be making huge profits from the reform plan.Seven of Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09331035803972630321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-27187079896182051942009-09-10T04:57:00.000-07:002009-09-10T05:46:22.746-07:00Fat Need Not Apply<blockquote><p><em>An article published last week on the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog quotes Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove as lamenting the fact that he cannot legally refuse to hire morbidly obese individuals and as supporting stigmatization of, and discrimination against, overweight individuals.<br /><br />The Cleveland Clinic has deemed smokers to be unsuitable for employment. New employees are required to undergo a cotinine test and are refused employment if testing indicates that they smoke or use smokeless tobacco.<br /><br />Now, it appears that smokers may be just the first group that the Cleveland Clinic is trying to purge from its work force. The overweight and obese appear to be next, as soon as Cosgrove gets word that it is only the morbidly obese who are protected by federal law.<br /><br />While the Americans with Disabilities Act protects individuals who are morbidly obese, it does not protect those who are merely obese or overweight. Thus, there is nothing to stop the Cleveland Clinic from refusing to hire anyone who is overweight or obese. The Cleveland Clinic is perfectly free to make being thin a requirement for employment. And it's frightening to know that its CEO is even thinking about doing so.<br /><br />To be clear, what the Cleveland Clinic is doing is discriminating against smokers in employment. They are justifying this selective and targeted employment discrimination on the grounds that it is important to promote a healthy workforce. Yet they show no desire to actually promote a healthy workforce by making sure that prospective employees are actually healthy. They can be as unhealthy as they want to be, as long as they don't smoke and are not over weight.<br /><br />What's next? Refusal to give smokers and obese/over weight people health care at the Cleveland Clinic?</em> </p><p>http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/08/cleveland-clinic-ceo-quoted-as.html </p></blockquote>Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06050291602160867316noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-8417556823608699422009-08-11T11:28:00.000-07:002009-08-11T11:32:18.648-07:00Show Everyone Real Freedom of SpeechIn Arizona alone: At Democratic congress woman Gabrielle Giffords healthcare meeting <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/10/gabrielle-giffords-town-h_n_255656.html" target="_blank">a rabid protester dropped a gun</a> out of his pocket. <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2310382/posts" target="_blank">Anne Kirkpatrick couldn't get hers started...</a> The meeting was shut down, republi-cons bragged, calling it "recess roastings". Harry Mitchell's meeting was a farce, with "screamers" everywhere... no respect shown. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/07/obama-allied-unions-threa_n_254204.html" target="_blank">Threats of violence were issued to Union members</a> if they showed up to voice their opinions.<br /><br />Last night, republi-con Jeff Flake held his meeting... <a href="http://www.abc15.com/content/news/southeastvalley/chandler/story/Thousands-turn-out-for-Chandler-town-hall/yElL2GRljkqzcSQgn7KbbQ.cspx" target="_blank">it was civil and orderly</a>, people outside joked with the media that they were "the angry mob". At Trent Franks meeting they were disappointed there wasn't enough room... again, very subdued and joking about being "the angry mob". John Shadegg's meeting was similar. All three republi-con congress members had one thing in common, respect shown.<br /><br />Guns, screaming, threats of violence... no respect at the Democratic congress members meetings. Orderly, civil, subdued, and jokes about being "the angry mob" at all the Republican member meetings. That describes Arizona and the rest of the USA currently.<br /><br />It's evident in Arizona, on FAUX News, right wing radio and through out America, free speech exists for the Republican party. Especially when it resorts to outlandish behavior, inciting violence and preying on people's fear.<br /><br />Taking August off has once again played into the hands of the party of NO. The Democratic Party is reeling during this recess. The repukes had a strategy... absurd and idiotic as it is... it's effective, and it's taking the voice from the healthcare discussion. Democrats need to be smart about this right now... get organized... this could be a significant political turning point... time to stop fucking around. Democrats won majorities in both Houses, the Presidency... in other words, <strong>the vote</strong>... time to immediately pass effective healthcare legislation, <strong>show everyone real Freedom of Speech!!</strong>Seven of Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09331035803972630321noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-81072489759458520212009-07-07T06:59:00.000-07:002009-07-07T08:07:33.405-07:00Thirteen DaysThe world, for thirteen straight days, has been mourning Michael Jackson's death. As the world mourns, NBC and others feed the grieving masses with such topics as flying Bubbles to the funeral, or keeping the bad news from Bubbles as to not harm the emotional well being of the chimp. It is as though the world stopped thirteen days ago and then collectively went insane.<br /><br />Is something wrong with me when the world seems to be grieving so? Here I am searching the channels for real news about the economy, health care, etc., only to find that Michael Jackson's life and death transcends all such mundane topics. <br /><br />Now don't get me wrong. I'm sorry that Michael died at such a young age. I like Michael's music, and cannot deny that MJ was a true genius. But being subjected to non-stop tabloid news for thirteen days is more than I can take. <br /><br />That sound you just heard was me turning off the TV for another six months.Judithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06050291602160867316noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4517715971621462038.post-64179281534055748222009-07-04T14:17:00.000-07:002009-07-04T14:31:34.410-07:00Leave it to SarahSince it's a different point of view, here's the <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090704/NEWS09/907040323">Iowa paper of record</a> on Moose Killer's resignation.<blockquote>Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to leave office this month could help her begin laying the groundwork for Iowa's 2012 Republican presidential caucuses, influential Iowa and national party insiders said Friday.<br /><br /> . .Dave Roederer, top Iowa adviser to former President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain, said it would be difficult for Palin to begin making contacts in Iowa next year in anticipation of a bid for the leadoff caucuses were she still governor.<br /><br /> . . "Geographically, I just don't know if she could do both jobs. The distance is huge," said Roederer, who was McCain's 2008 Iowa campaign chairman. "You can't just give a speech and fly home the next day."</blockquote>Remember what I said the other day about the GOP gubernatorial hopefuls? Guess which county also weighs in.<blockquote>Sac County Republican Ann Trimble-Ray, who was a strong supporter of Palin last year, said she would be disappointed if Palin were stepping down in order to get a jump on a 2012 campaign.<br /><br />"If she is thinking of running for higher office, she's not done the right thing," said Trimble-Ray, who is county party vice chairwoman and was a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention. "You need to be loyal to the people who elected you. It shakes my faith in her judgment, which I had thought was very good."</blockquote>Sarah will be forgiven, especially if Huckabee decides not to run or won't walk away from his less-than-ideologically pure positions.idiosynchronichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15130385037526106860noreply@blogger.com3